The Visit
by The 1000th Kiss
Summary: The bohos are invited to Benny and Allison's home for the very first time.
1. Chapter 1

**I know it's not October yet, but this is an attempt at a thriller/ghost story type thing that I'm shooting to finish by the end of that month. It may or may not happen. That is all.**

**I own nothing but the plot line. The Almighty Larson owns the rest.**

"Quick question," Collins said from the back seat of the bohemians' rented van. "Don't we hate Benny?" Everyone, save Angel, answered affirmatively.

"Honey, I wouldn't use 'hate,'" Angel replied. "Maybe use . . . 'not very fond of?'"

"Whatever way you put it, we don't like him. So, why the hell did we agree to visit him?"

"Because we don't have electricity, heat, or water at the loft," Mark pointed out as he drove.

"Angel and I do."

"So do me and Joanne," Maureen added. "Why'd you guys drag us all along?"

"Because we have absolutely nothing to say to Benny," Roger said, staring at the directions he'd written down while on the phone with the bohemians' former friend. "Take the left up ahead, Mark."

"What makes you think the rest of us have somethin' to say to him?" Collins asked somewhat angrily. Angel placed his hand on Collins' thigh.

"Calm down, sweetie," he told him. "They just didn't wanna go alone. It's okay they invited us. Besides, it's always nice to go on a road trip. _And _if you behave, I'll give you a reward."

"What _kind _of reward?" Angel then kissed Collins, who instantly deepened the kiss. The two of them were soon in a heated make out session and Mimi moved to the seat where Maureen and Joanne were sitting.

"How much longer until we get there, Mark?" the dancer asked as Mark drove the van through a massive, opened gate.

"We're actually here," Mark replied. "I think this is the driveway. The _very long _driveway."

"You might wanna drive a little faster."

"Why?"

"Angel and Collins are about to go at it." Mark pressed the gas pedal further to the floor as Maureen, who sitting in the middle seat of the van, turned around and watched as Angel and Collins groped and kissed each other.

"That is _so _hot!" she exclaimed.

"Maureen, stop watching them!" Joanne told her girlfriend, forcing Maureen to turn around.

"But it's hot!" Mark suddenly slammed on the brake, causing the five bohemians in the back of the van to nearly fall off of their seats, yet, amazingly, not interrupting the foreplay that was going on in the back seat.

"What the hell, Mark?" Mimi said.

"Sorry, guys, but look!" Mark exclaimed, pointing to the extremely large house in front of the van. Everyone, except for Angel and Collins, stared at the house in awe. Maureen turned around to face the couple again.

"Hey!" she shouted at them. "Stop sucking each other's faces off and look at Benny's house!" She pulled Angel off of Collins and the drag queen looked at the house with widened eyes.

"Honey, you should see this!" he told his lover. Collins nodded and tried to pull Angel back into their make out session.

"Yeah, yeah, Ang, I'm sure it's nice," he said.

"You didn't even look."

"I'm a _little bit _distracted right now." Angel giggled and gave Collins a peck on the lips.

"Come on!" Maureen said excitedly, sliding one of the van doors open and jumping out of it. "I wanna see the _inside _of it looks like!" Joanne practically dove out of the van behind her. Mark, Roger, and Mimi followed them. Angel started toward the door of the van, but Collins grabbed the bottom of his skirt and pulled him back to him.

"Not now, honey," Angel said, causing Collins to frown.

"But Angel . . . I _need _you," he whined. Angel kissed him on the bridge of his nose.

"Later, okay?" Collins sighed and nodded. He and Angel then got out of the van to join their friends, who were on the porch. Maureen was ringing the doorbell repeatedly.

"Damn," Collins said, looking at the pearl white columns that complemented Benny's home. "This is just _too much house _for two people."

"No kidding," Roger agreed. "Think Benny'll be up for renting out rooms?"

"Babe, he already knows you and Mark don't pay rent," Mimi reminded her boyfriend.

"Oh yeah . . ." Angel and Collins shared a laugh as Maureen began ringing the doorbell even faster.

"Dammit, Benny!" she exclaimed. She started pounding a fist on the door. "Open. The. Fucking. Door." The door suddenly swung open. A tall man wearing a gray suit had answered it. He stared at the bohemians with a somewhat shocked expression on his face. He then noticed their van.

"I'm going to assume your van broke down and you need to use the telephone," he said, his nose turned up in the air. The seven friends exchanged looks.

"Why would you assume that?" Mark asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Coffin would _never _invite such . . . riffraff to their home."

"What the hell did you just call us?" Maureen asked angrily, stepping toward the man. Joanne pulled her back.

"Goodness gracious. Poor, dirty, uneducated . . ." The man looked at Angel. "_And _gender confused. My, my, my. What a motley crew _this _is." Collins' mouth dropped open and Angel looked down at his heels to hide his hurt feelings.

"Oh, hell no!" Collins exclaimed. "Now, I gotta kick your ass!"

"And _I'm _helping him!" Maureen added.

"Alfred, who's at the door?" the bohemians heard Benny call.

"Just some riffraff, sir!" the man, apparently called Alfred, called back.

"I'll _show _you riffraff!" Collins yelled at him. He then grabbed Alfred by his collar. That's when Benny came to the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed, removing Collins' hands from Alfred's collar. "What are you doing, Collins?"

"That _asshole _hurt Angel's feelings!" Collins still really wanted to hurt Alfred. "He called her gender confused!"

"And he called the rest of us riffraff!" Mimi added. Benny's eyes widened and he turned Alfred toward him.

"Alfred, these are guests," he told him. "You don't insult guests." Alfred looked back at the angry bohemians and sighed.

"My deepest apologies," he said.

"Not accepted, asswipe!" Maureen shouted at him.

"Maureen!" Joanne hissed. Alfred held up a hand to quiet her.

"No, no," he said. "I deserved that. Now, if you will all follow me to-"

"That won't be necessary, Alfred," Benny interrupted. "I'll show them to the family room." Alfred nodded and put his hands behind his back.

"Then, if you will all excuse me, I have some tidying up to do." Alfred disappeared into the house.

"Uh, sorry about that, you guys," Benny said. "Come on in." The bohemians followed Benny in a single file line until they came to a large room with a fireplace, a large, white sectional couch, a matching love seat, a large television, a glass coffee table with what appeared to have solid gold legs, and white wall-to-wall carpeting. The seven of them looked around in amazement as they entered the room.

"Goddamn . . ." Collins said, speaking for everyone. "I feel like I should've taken my shoes off somewhere between the door and here."

"No, it's fine," Benny told him. "Have a seat, you guys." Mark, Roger, Mimi, Maureen, and Joanne sat on the couch while Angel and Collins made their way to the love seat. There was an awkward silence. "Can I get anybody anything out of the liquor cabinet?" Another awkward silence passed between Benny and his guests.

"Hell, _I'll _take a drink," Collins said, breaking the silence. The rest of the bohemians then expressed their want for alcohol as well. Benny nodded and left the room. When he returned, he had a tray with eight glasses and a bottle of brandy on it. He placed the tray on the coffee table, passed the glasses out, and filled them. Everyone took a drink at the same time and another awkward silence occurred.

"So, Benny, why the hell are we here?" Maureen asked. Joanne didn't scold her because she knew that every last one of them was thinking the same thing.

"To be completely honest with you, I have no idea," Benny admitted, sipping his drink. Mark and Roger glanced at each other.

"You invited us here," Mark reminded him.

"Actually, Alison told me to invite you."

"Why?" Angel asked.

"Because I want to get to know you all," Alison said as she entered the room. She took Benny's hand and looked around the room at all the bohemians.

"Why?" Mimi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I like to meet all of Benny's friends."

"We ain't his friends," Collins spat, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Angel.

"Collins is right," Roger added. "We hate him."

"Well, you're . . . former friends. That still has the word 'friends' in it, right?"

"Cut the crap, lady!" Maureen exclaimed. "Why are we _really _here?" The drama queen folded her arms. Alison sighed in defeat.

"Okay, I thought we could talk about a new lease for your loft." Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"'A new lease?'" Mark repeated.

"Yes."

"No," Benny said. "No, no, no, no. Their current lease is _fine, _Alison. They just refuse to pay the rent."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe they _don't_ pay because they _can't _pay? Face it, you're _way _too hard on them." Mark and Roger looked at each other and Benny's mouth dropped open. "I _know _Daddy told you to get them to pay the rent or evict them, but I really don't think that's fair if they can't afford it. So, tonight we'll discuss a new lease over dinner."

"But Alison-" Benny was cut off by Alison putting her index finger to his lips.

"Now, you go tell Alfred he'll be preparing dinner for nine," Alison told her husband.

"Bet he'll be _thrilled _to hear that," Collins whispered to Angel, making the drag queen giggle as Benny left the room.

"Why do you wanna help us out?" Mark asked. "You don't know any of us or anything _about _us."

"I know _some _things about you," Alison replied. "Well . . . Benny's told me some things."

"What'd he tell you?" Collins asked.

"Well, which one of you is Mark?" Mark raised his hand. "Benny said you're a great filmmaker." Mark smiled at the compliment. "And that you need to stop, and I quote, 'whining like a little bitch about Maureen.'" Mark's smile faded as quickly as it appeared.

"I do _not _whine!" he exclaimed. "And I'm over her!"

"Please, Mark," Maureen said. "You can _never _get over _this _girl." Joanne rolled her eyes.

"Did he say anything about the rest of us?" Angel asked.

"Yes," Alison replied. "He said Roger plays the guitar well and has a nice singing voice, but sometimes he wishes every single string on his guitar would break and that he would get laryngitis."

"What the hell!" Roger shouted. Mimi placed her hand on his shoulder.

"He said Mimi is one of the sweetest people he's ever gotten to know," Alison continued. She looked down at her feet. "Then he said to himself, or at least he _thought _he said it to himself, 'she has a nice ass.'" Angel and Collins laughed as Roger's face began turning red.

"How come _she _didn't get insulted?" Mark asked, folding his arms.

"Well, he _did _say something about her being a whore." Mimi's mouth dropped open and Roger became angrier.

"'A whore?'" Mimi repeated in shock.

"He called my girlfriend a whore?" Roger asked angrily. "I'm gonna rip his head off!"

"What'd he say about me?" Maureen asked loudly.

"He said you're too loud and too over dramatic about _everything_," Alison replied. Maureen gasped and Angel, Collins, and Joanne all covered their ears.

"I AM _NOT _TOO LOUD _OR _TOO OVER DRAMATIC!" Maureen screeched. She looked to her girlfriend. "What'd he say about Joanne?"

"He said she's way too snobby for his taste." Joanne's eyes narrowed.

"'Snobby?'" she repeated. "I think _not_." Everyone looked to Angel and Collins.

"What about Collins and Angel?" Mimi asked. Alison looked to the two lovers on the love seat.

"He said Collins has a brilliant mind, but he doesn't really use it as much as he should because all he does is smoke marijuana and eat cereal," she said. Collins thought for a moment then nodded.

"Yeah, that's about right," he replied.

"And he said Angel's the most kindhearted person he's ever met," Alison continued. Angel smiled proudly as Alison closed her eyes and sighed. "Then, again under his breath, he said 'she has a nice ass' and . . . if he was ever given the chance he'd . . . 'fuck her.'" Angel blushed and the rest of the bohemians looked at the angry expression on Collins' face.

"LIKE HELL HE WOULD!" he boomed. Benny then returned to the room. Collins immediately stood up and glared at him.

"What's all the yelling about?" Benny asked. Angel stood up and placed a hand on Collins' shoulder just as he was about to take a step toward Benny.

"You better keep yourself _far away _from Angel!" Collins yelled. "You ain't fucking her in this life or any other life!" He ran over to the fireplace and grabbed what he thought was a vase off of the mantel.

"Honey, what are you planning on doing with that?" Angel asked worriedly.

"I'm gonna bash his goddamn head in!"

"Do it, do it, do it!" Maureen chanted."

"Collins, please put that down," Alison said, rushing over to the anarchist.

"Is it an extremely expensive vase?" Collins asked. "'Cause if it's not, I can pay for it."

"No, Collins, it's not a vase. It's a urn." Collins eyes widened as Alison took the urn from him and walked back over to the fireplace.

"Who's in it?" Mimi asked curiously. Alison placed the urn back on the mantel.

"I don't know," she said, turning back toward the bohemians and her husband.

"What do mean you don't know?" Roger asked.

"I mean exactly that. That urn was here when we bought the house."

"Why not get rid of it?" Joanne asked.

"It just seemed disrespectful."Collins then turned back to Benny.

"Don't think your wife distracted me," he said. "I'm _still_ gonna kill you at some point." Alison crossed the room to her husband.

"Why exactly are you threatening me, Collins?" Benny asked, taking a step backward.

"Alison told us what you said about us," Mark said, glaring at Benny as well. Benny's eyes widened.

"You _weren't _supposed to tell them any of that!" he told his wife.

"I'm sorry, but I told them I knew things about them from you and they got curious," Alison replied. Benny stared at his angry ex-friends. They all, with the exception of Angel, looked ready to attack him.

"Well . . . dinner will be ready in about an hour or so," he told them, grabbing Alison's hand. "So . . . feel free to explore the house until then." He then quickly left the room, practically dragging Alison with him.

"I'm gonna kill him," Collins said, glaring at where Benny once stood.

"Honey, don't let it bother you," Angel replied. He gave him a kiss on the cheek and held his hand.

"Wait a second!" Maureen shouted, standing up. Everyone's attention went to her. "Did Benny just give us permission to snoop around his house?"

"Maureen, he didn't say 'snoop,'" Joanne told her.

"I don't care _what _he said! He gave us a free pass to do whatever the hell we want in his house for a whole hour!" Maureen seemed to have completely forgotten that she and her friends were angry with Benny.

"That's not what he said, Maureen," Mark told the drama queen. "He-"

"What are we waiting for?" Maureen interrupted. "LET'S GO!" She then bolted from the room with the rest of the bohemians right behind her.

**Phew! That was a mighty long first chapter, wouldn't ya say? Can I keep these long chapters up? I don't know, but I'll sure try! It doesn't get all creepy and stuff until the next chapter, so review and the creepiness can begin! **

**Just a head's up: I might kill somebody . . .**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter! Enjoy it!**

**I own nothing but the plot line. The Almighty Larson owns the rest.**

"There has to be over a thousand crystals on it," Maureen said, staring up at the ceiling. She had led her friends to the end of a long hallway and stopped when she got to a spiral staircase. They had all looked upward at the same time and admired the large, crystal chandelier that was hanging high above them. Maureen then randomly laid down on the carpeted floor to see if the chandelier looked any different. The rest of the bohemians formed a circle and joined her when they realized they wouldn't be able to get her to stand up.

"Can you imagine being high and then doin' this?" Collins asked, making Angel giggle. He grabbed his lover's hand.

"Honeybear?" Joanne said, looking over to the drama queen.

"Hmm?" Maureen replied, still transfixed by the chandelier.

"The chandelier is nice and all, but aren't you worried that we're wasting our hour by staring at it?" Maureen squealed and jumped up off of the floor. The rest of the bohemians sat up and looked at her.

"Come on!" she exclaimed, running up the stairs. Everyone else got up off of the floor and walked up the stairs to the first landing that went into the second floor where Maureen was waiting for them. When they made it to the landing, they all followed Maureen, who led them down the hallway and into a room that had a grand piano in the middle of it.

"This must be the music room," Joanne said, looking around. Maureen skipped over to the piano and pressed random keys. "Maureen, don't mess with that."

"It's a piano, Pookie," Maureen replied. "It's _supposed _to be played."

"Yes, by someone who _knows_ how to play." Joanne removed Maureen's hands from the piano and the drama queen folded her arms. She sat on the piano stool while Joanne and her friends explored the room. Mark walked over to a door and opened it. It was a walk-in closet filled with musical instruments. He stepped inside.

"Does Benny even _play _the piano?" Roger asked.

"If he does, he's got a depressing taste in music," Collins commented, going through a folder of sheet music. "Every last one of these has somethin' to do with a funeral or death." A low, eerie chord sounded from the piano.

"Maureen!" Joanne exclaimed.

"I didn't do it!" Maureen replied, innocently putting her hands in the air.

"You're the only one by the piano!"

"But I didn't do it, Pookie! I really didn't!"

"Hey, you guys!" Mark shouted, emerging from the closet. He was holding bagpipes. "Check this out!"

"Ooh!" Maureen exclaimed, standing up. Joanne's attention quickly went from Mark to her.

"Don't even think about it," she said. Maureen refolded her arms and sat back down.

"Oh God," Mimi said. "Bagpipes? Of all the instruments to own?"

"There's a glockenspiel in that closet too. And whole bunch of other-"

"This room is boring!" Maureen interrupted, standing up again. "Let's go to a different one!" She sprinted from the room with Joanne right behind her. The rest of the bohemians, minus Mark, who was putting the bagpipes away, followed them into the hallway. This time Maureen led them into a room filled with books from wall to wall. Collins and Joanne smiled as they entered it.

"This is _some _library," Mimi said, looking at the four bookshelves. They were all the length and width of the wall they were on and filled to capacity.

"I bet Collins has read over half of the books in here," Roger commented as Mark walked into the library. Besides books, there were two armchairs, a small table, two reading lamps, a couch, and another liquor cabinet. Angel sat in one of the armchairs, Maureen sat in the other armchair, and Roger and Mimi sat on the couch while Collins and Joanne looked at the books.

"We're gonna be in here _forever _with those two bookworms," Maureen whined. Collins pulled a book out and screamed as the entire wall along with the part of the floor he was standing on turned 180 degrees. All of the sitting bohemians stood up at the same time.

"Holy shit!" Roger shouted. The wall then turned another 180 degrees, but Collins was still on the other side of it.

"Collins!" Angel cried, rushing to the bookshelf.

"Where'd he go?" Mimi asked, her eyes wide with horror. No one answered her. Maureen ran to Angel's side.

"Start pulling!" she shouted, taking books off the shelf and tossing them over her shoulder. "We have to find the one that made the wall move!"

"Maureen, wait!" Joanne told her girlfriend. She rushed to her and stopped her from throwing any more books on the floor. "Most things like this are secret passage ways. Collins is probably safe in another part of the house."

"Well, we have to find him!" Angel exclaimed. The bohemians ran into the hallway. Mark counted how many doors he saw.

"Okay, there's still six rooms on this floor we haven't checked," Mark said. "We'll each check one and meet back in this spot. Fan out!"

* * *

><p>Collins couldn't see anything. He'd been in dark places before, but he this was beyond dark. His back was to a wall of some sort and he was afraid to move anywhere. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled his lighter out of it. The small flame allowed him to see that he was in a narrow hallway with nowhere to go but forward. Cautiously, he started walking, taking as small of steps as he possibly could. He got about a fourth of the way down the hallway before a deep, ominous sounding moan caused him to stop in his tracks.<p>

"Hello?" he called. He turned back to where he'd come from and saw nothing but the wall. He then turned back around to resume walking and just barely saw a man, who wasn't there seconds ago, standing at the other end of the hallway. Neither one of them moved for a long while. Collins let the flame go out for a moment. When it returned, the man had moved a bit closer to him.

"Get out," he said. Collins didn't move. The man glared at him. He began walking toward Collins, who started backing up. **"GET OUT!"** Collins dropped his lighter. It became dark again. **"GET OUT!"**

Collins' back touched the wall again. He had nowhere else to go. He was trapped.

"Help!" he cried, turning his back to the man and pounding his fists on the wall. "Somebody! Anybody! Help me!"

"**GET OUT!" **the man kept shouting at him. **"GET OUT!** **GET OUT!** **GET OUT!"**

* * *

><p>"Anybody find Collins?" Angel asked as the bohemians came back to the entrance of the library. Everyone answered negatively.<p>

"Anybody find anything that looked like an entrance or an exit of a secret passageway?" Mark asked. Another group of negative answers. "Well, what the hell do we do now?"

"We could try searching the rest of the house," Joanne suggested.

"That'll take forever," Mimi pointed out.

"We have to try _something _though," Angel said. "Collins can't just be . . . gone forever." Tears formed in his eyes and Mimi pulled him into a hug.

"Dare I ask what you all are up to?" Alfred asked the bohemians as he walked toward them. He was carrying a feather duster underneath his arm. The six friends ran to him, causing him to stop walking and fear for his life for a short moment.

"Are you aware that there's some sort of secret passageway in the library?" Joanne asked him.

"Well, of course. Whom do you think has to keep them free of dust?"

"You have to help us then!" Maureen shouted. She paused for few seconds. "'Them?'"

"Yes."

"You mean there's _more _than one?" Mark asked. Alfred scoffed.

"Of course there's more than one," he said. "Have you ever known a house to have a single secret passageway?"

"We've never known a house to have _any _secret passageways," Mimi replied. Alfred started to say something more, but a pounding noise interrupted his thoughts. He pressed his ear to a wall. The pounding continued followed by a somewhat muffled cry for help.

"It appears there is someone inside this wall," Alfred said. Angel put his ear to the wall as well.

"It's Collins!" he exclaimed. Alfred moved away from the wall and silently counted the friends.

"I _knew _one of you was missing." He furrowed his brow. "How on earth did he get inside the wall?"

"Through the secret passageway in the library!" Mimi exclaimed.

"You _have _to help us get him out!" Angel added.

"He had to have pulled the book that opens the passageway," Alfred said. "Have you tried pulling the book and opening the passageway yourselves?"

"I _knew _that would've worked!" Maureen gloated. She pressed her ear to the wall as the pounding and muffled cries continued. "Nobody ever listens to me!"

"Alfred, we have no idea which book he pulled," Joanne explained.

"That's why we need your help," Roger added.

"We gotta get Collins outta there fast," Maureen informed everyone. "He's freaking the hell out."

"Well, it _is _dark in there," Alfred stated.

"I don't think it's about the darkness. I think someone's in there with him."

"Someone's _in there _with him?" Mimi asked.

"He sounds like he's talking to someone. I can make out the words 'alone' and 'me.'" Maureen moved away from the wall as Joanne pressed her ear to it. Everyone was silent.

"Okay I heard 'me,'" she said. "And I _think _I heard 'leave.' He _might _be saying 'alone' and possibly 'please' too. I'm not sure. He's saying it too fast."

"'Please, leave me alone' perhaps?" Alfred guessed. He started walking toward the library with the six bohemians right behind him. Upon entering the library, he noticed there were several books on the floor. He began picking them up.

"What are you doing?" Roger asked as the pounding grew louder. "Our friend is trapped in a wall!"

"I'm the butler," Alfred told the rocker. "It's my _job _to keep the house neat and _tidy." _Maureen slapped the books out of Alfred's hands. "Well, that was uncalled for."

"Clean later!" she yelled, pointing at the bookshelf Collins had been looking at. Alfred walked over to it and calmly pulled the same book Collins had pulled and stepped back. The wall turned and revealed Collins, who was covering his face with his arms. Alfred stepped toward him and pulled him toward his friends by one of his arms as the wall turned again. The anarchist brought his arms down and his eyes widened. He looked at the wall and then back at his friends.

"Collins!" Angel exclaimed, rushing to him. He trapped his boyfriend in a hug as the rest of their friends ran to him.

"Are you okay?" Mimi asked.

"I . . . don't know," Collins replied as Angel released him from the hug. He looked to Alfred. "Um . . . this is gonna sound like a weird question, but . . . is this house . . . haunted?"

"'Haunted?'" Alfred repeated. "Why, I've never heard something so absurd in all my life."

"You wouldn't think it was absurd if it was _you _trapped in a wall with a ghost!"

"'Ghost?'" the rest of the bohemians repeated.

"Don't be ridiculous," Alfred said. "There are no such things as ghosts."

"Then explain the guy in that wall who kept disappearing, reappearing, and tellin' me to get out!" Collins replied, folding his arms and glaring at the butler.

"I've been in that passageway hundreds of times and, I assure you, there are no-"

"I _know _what the fuck I saw!" Collins interrupted.

"Honey, maybe you only imagined it," Angel suggested. Collins' mouth dropped open. "Don't give me that look."

"Angel, I thought you, of all people, would believe me. I really _did _see somethin' in there, baby. I'm not makin' this up. My imagination ain't _that _vivid."

"Marijuana can alter _anyone's _imagination," Alfred commented.

"Alright then, why don't _you _go in and see for yourself?" Alfred sighed, placed the feather duster he was carrying on the table, stepped toward the bookshelf, and pulled the book that triggered the wall to turn. The bohemians stared at the bookshelf. Nothing happened for ten minutes. Alfred then pushed his way through the friends, picked up his feather duster, and put his hands behind his back.

"Now, as I was saying before I was _rudely _interrupted, I've been in that passageway hundreds of times and, I assure you, there are no ghosts in it," Alfred said.

"Where the hell did you go?" Maureen asked.

"To the gallery at the end of the hall. That's where it leads to."

"I checked the gallery," Joanne said. "I didn't see anything that looked like it came from a secret passageway."

"The exit opens from _inside _the passageway _only."_

"Where _is _the exit?" Alfred walked out of the room with the bohemians following him. He led them into a room about the same size as the music room, only this room was filled with paintings.

"Mrs. Coffin collects art," Alfred explained, sensing his employer's guests were wondering about the room. "She's paid quite a bit of money for all of these paintings." He walked over to a painting of a man whose expression was angry. "All except for this one." Collins realized that the man in the painting looked exactly like the man he'd seen while he was trapped inside the secret passageway. He quickly looked away from it. "This one was in this room when she and Mr. Coffin bought the house. It is the exit of the passageway in the library."

"Why keep such an ugly painting?" Mimi asked.

"I ask myself that very question every time I dust it." Alfred turned his back to the painting. "If you will all excuse me, I must check on dinner." The butler then left the room.

"Let's check out the next floor!" Maureen exclaimed. Collins took one last glance at the painting of the angry man before he and his friends filed out of the room.

* * *

><p>Benny and his guests sat around the dining room table in silence. They still seemed a bit angry with him about the things he said about them when they entered the dining room. He wanted to apologize, but he was sure that it wouldn't get him off their bad sides. He noticed everyone kept looking at Collins and Angel was holding his hand tightly. The anarchist looked like he was afraid of something.<p>

"Collins, are you okay?" he asked. "You seem a little tense." Alison then came into the room with a folded paper in her hand.

"Okay, I think you'll like this lease," she said, sitting down next to Benny. "I came up with it myself. All it needs is to be signed." Benny took the paper out of his wife's hand and unfolded it. As he read it, his eyes widened.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" he exclaimed. "Rent free? Seriously?"

"I think it would be easier for them to only have to worry about paying for utilities."

"Alison, this is _not _a good idea."

"Daddy thinks it is. As a matter of fact, he thinks it's better than any of the leases _you've _come up with."

"Your father thinks this is a good idea?"

"Yes, he does." Before Benny could say anything more, Alfred entered the dining room, carrying a tray with nine glasses of wine on it.

"Dinner will be served very shortly," he announced, making his way over to the table. Angel took one of the glasses off of the tray and sipped it. "Ms. Schunard, I would like to formally apologize for my comment earlier."

"Apology accepted, honey," Angel replied, smiling at the fact Alfred said 'Ms.' instead of 'Mr.' The butler made his way around the table and started to leave the room when everyone had their drink.

"Alfred, could you find me a pen please?" Alison asked.

"Certainly." Alfred tucked the tray underneath his arm, gave a small bow, and exited the room.

"I'm _not _signing this, Alison," Benny told his wife.

"You don't have a choice, Benjamin," Alison replied, her eyes narrowed. She and Benny were soon arguing while the bohemians watched, occasionally sipping their wine. The grandfather clock that was behind Angel's chair chimed as the table suddenly began to shake. Benny and Alison's argument stopped as the whole house started quaking and things were falling off the walls.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Maureen shouted over the still chiming grandfather clock. Everyone dove underneath the table as the ceiling caved in. The grandfather clock fell toward the table. Collins moved Angel out of the way and the clock smashed through the table, falling on his left hand. He screamed in pain as the quaking and the chiming stopped. Mark, Roger, and Benny lifted the clock off of Collins' hand before everyone slowly came out from underneath the table. The house was in ruins around them.

"Where the hell did _that _come from?" Mark asked rhetorically, looking at the damage.

"Honey, let me see your hand," Angel told Collins. The anarchist slowly held his hand out to his lover and quickly pulled it back when he touched it. Alfred then came into what was left of the room. His eyes were wide.

"What's happened here?" he asked.

"You didn't feel the earthquake?" Mimi replied.

"Not at all."

"Where _were _you?" Mark asked.

"I was in the family room searching for a pen. It looks _nothing _like the rest of the house. Come see for yourself." Alfred led the others to the family room. They couldn't believe their eyes. The room was completely intact and the only thing that had been disturbed was the urn that had been on the mantel, which was now on the floor with the lid still on.

"How did this room stay together?" Joanne wondered out loud. Alfred walked over to the urn and picked it up. He took the lid off of it, looked inside, and his eyes widened.

"Mrs. Coffin?" he said. "Were there ashes in this urn when you found it here?"

"Yes," Alison replied. "And there should _still be _ashes in there."

"There aren't." Everyone's attention was on Alfred as he held the urn upside down. "This urn is completely empty."

**I gotta say this whole long chapter thing is **_**really **_**hard, but I'm gonna do my damnedest to keep it up. Anyway, I hope you liked this one. I've decided who I'm gonna kill, by the way.**

**Review please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Haven't updated anything in a while. All I'm gonna say is: college preparation.**

**I own nothing but the plot line. The Almighty Larson owns the rest.**

The bohemians, Benny, Alison, and Alfred sat in silence in the family room. None of them were even breathing loudly. The only sound that could be heard was the soft roar of the flames from the fireplace and the occasional whimper that came from Collins while Angel applied slight pressure to his hand. At Alison's request, Alfred had placed the now empty urn back on the mantel and everyone had been staring at it since. Maureen suddenly stood up from her spot on the floor next to Joanne.

"Well, it's been fun, but I think we should all be going now," she said. "Who's with me?"

"I am!" Roger, Mark, and Mimi chorused.

"Guys, we can't leave Benny, Alison, and Alfred here all alone," Angel pointed out.

"And why the hell can't we?" Collins asked his lover.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but the house is completely destroyed. Well, with the exception of this room."

"Then they should be safe as long as they stay here."

"But we don't even know if _our _homes are still standing."

"And we _won't _know until we leave."

"I hate to say it, Angel, but I agree," Joanne said, standing up and grabbing Maureen's hand. A deafening clap of thunder sounded and was followed by a blinding strike of lighting. Angel gave his friends a look of disappointment.

"Mark, go start the van," Roger said.

"Why do _I _have to do it?" Mark asked.

"You have the keys."

"Well, I'm not going out there alone. And how do we know the van's still in one piece? There was an earthquake, remember?"

"Rog, go with him," Mimi told her boyfriend. She pushed him toward the doorway of the family room before he could protest. He and Mark then left the room. They were gone for a record thirteen seconds.

"It's gone," Mark said, his eyes wide.

"What's gone?" Maureen asked.

"The van," Roger answered. "It's not out there."

"So, we're stuck here?" Mimi asked. Roger went to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

"Benny's Range Rover is still out there," Mark said.

"Well, Benny, take us home!" Maureen demanded.

"Why should I do that?" Benny asked, folding his arms across his chest. "You were going to leave us here."

"Well, I guess we can't do that now! Take us home!"

"No, take us to a hospital first," Angel said. "If there _is _a hospital that's still standing. Collins' hand might be broken."

"I'm not taking you guys _anywhere. _You're stuck here with us!"

"Benny, his hand _could_ be broken," Alison told her husband. "And it's _our_ clock that fell on it."

"That's right, it is," Collins said. He turned to Joanne. "I can sue for that, can't I?" The lawyer nodded.

"Ha!" Maureen exclaimed. "Now you _have _ to take us! Pookie can get you thrown in jail with one phone call!" Benny looked at the smirk on Maureen's face. He knew she was exaggerating, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Dammit," he said.

* * *

><p>While Collins was having his hand examined with Angel by his side, the rest of the bohemians, Benny, Alison, and Alfred all sat in the waiting room and discussed the fact that even though they all, save Alfred, clearly felt the earthquake that happened not too long ago and Benny and Alison's house was destroyed because of said earthquake, nothing else seemed to have been affected by it. They were sure that no one else even felt it.<p>

Once a splint had been put on Collins' wrist and he had been discharged, everyone piled into the Range Rover. Benny hesitated before starting the car and pulling out of the hospital parking lot.

"Okay, Benny, take us home now!" Maureen exclaimed.

"Maureen, sweetie, we can't leave Benny, Alison, and Alfred to fend for themselves," Angel said. "That's just mean."

"Well, what else are we supposed to do? They're not staying with me and Joanne!"

"And they're _definitely_ not staying with us!" Roger added.

"They can stay with Collins and me," Angel said.

"Their clock smashed my hand," Collins reminded his lover.

"We're _really_ sorry about that," Alison told the anarchist.

"It's okay," Angel replied. "And you all can stay with us as long as you need to."

"Baby, we don't have room for them," Collins told Angel.

"We'll make room, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Angel," Alison said to the drag queen. "Benny, I think we should go back to our house to see if any overnight essentials survived the earthquake." Benny nodded and the rest of the car ride was silent. That is, until the landlord slammed on the brakes when they arrived back at the house, causing everyone in the back of the car to hit their heads on the seat in front of them or on someone else's head.

"Jesus, Benny!" Roger exclaimed clutching his forehead.

"That's impossible," Benny said quietly, ignoring Roger's comment. He and Alison quickly unbuckled their seatbelts and leapt out of the car. The bohemians and Alfred followed their example and stopped in their tracks as soon as they realized what had made Benny stop so suddenly.

"Holy fucking shit!" Maureen exclaimed, her eyes wide. Benny and Alison's house was completely intact. Everyone stared in silence for a moment.

"This is the weirdest night ever," Collins said. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not high."

"I honestly wish_ I_ was high right now," Benny commented.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the fact that the house is somehow fixed a good thing?" Alfred asked.

"I think creepy trumps good," Joanne retorted. Maureen moved closer to the lawyer and grabbed her hand.

"Well . . . this is _still_ our house," Alison said, trying to sound fearless. "I say we go in, grab what we need, and get out. We'll figure everything else out in the morning." Benny nodded as he and Alfred followed Alison toward the house.

"I don't think they should go in there alone," Angel said. He walked quickly to catch up.

"Baby, hold up!" Collins exclaimed, following his lover. The rest of the bohemians followed Collins just as it began to rain. On the porch, Benny turned the doorknob and was surprised to find that the door was unlocked. Everyone quietly filed into the house and immediately noticed that the lights weren't on. After they had made it halfway down the hallway, the front door slammed shut, causing the ten of them to quickly turn and face it.

"Who did that?" Angel asked worriedly. Collins wrapped an arm around him and held him close.

"Relax, Ang, I'm sure it was just . . . the wind or . . . somethin'," Collins replied in an unsure tone.

"Something like that ghost you said you saw earlier?" Mimi asked the anarchist.

"If that's what . . . who did it, we are so fucked," Roger commented.

"How many times must I say it?" Alfred asked. "There are no such things as ghosts. No matter _what_ the stoner says he saw, they _do not_ exist."

"Goddamn-it, Alfred, if you keep sayin' I made this up, I _will_ hurt you," Collins threatened, taking his arm from around Angel.

"With your splinted hand?" Collins held up his right hand and flipped Alfred off.

"_This_ is my good hand and it's still fully functional, asshole."

"Now is not the time for fighting," Alison said. "I think figuring out if we can still get in and out of the house is more important than figuring out what-"

"Or who," Collins interjected.

"Closed the door," Alison finished. She turned to her husband. "Benny, go see if we can get back out."

"Why do I have to do it?" Benny asked.

"Because you're the man of the house."

"Fine." Benny slowly made his way toward the door. Once he was standing in front of it, he hesitated before grabbing the doorknob and turning it. Just as he was about to open it, it flew open and he was knocked backwards by an invisible force, ending up on his back on the floor at Mark's feet. Before anyone could say anything, Benny was lifted off of the ground by his neck by the same invisible force that had pushed him away from the door.

"Oh my God!" Alison shrieked. "Somebody help him!"

"What the hell are _we_ supposed to do?" Roger asked, his eyes glued to Benny, who was grabbing at his neck in an attempt to free himself from whatever was choking him so he could breathe. He was suddenly dropped and he fell to the floor, gasping for air. Alison rushed to him. She then knelt next to her husband as she helped him sit up.

"Are you okay?" she asked. All eyes were on Benny as he pointed toward the door. Everyone looked from him to where he was pointing and saw, standing halfway between the door and where they were, was the same man Collins had seen earlier.

"This is your first and final warning," he said. His expression was even angrier than Collins remembered. "If all of you are not out of here before the clock strikes midnight, there will be hell to pay." The man then vanished and the door slammed shut. It was silent as Alison helped Benny to his feet.

"I think it's safe to say . . . we can't get out of the house," Benny informed everyone.

"Suddenly me saying I saw a ghost doesn't sound so absurd, does it?" Collins said, giving Alfred a slight glare. The butler refused to make eye contact with the anarchist.

"Honey, now is not a good time for gloating," Angel told his boyfriend.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Maureen asked in a panicked tone. "If we don't leave, we'll die and since we can't get out, we can't leave! That means we'll die! I don't wanna die!" Joanne held her arms out to her girlfriend, who dove into them.

"We don't know for sure if we'll die, Maureen," Mark pointed out.

"What _other_ hell do you think we're gonna pay if we don't do what the ghost said?"

"Maureen's right," Mimi said. "We have to get out of here somehow."

"I say since the family room seems to be the safest room in the house, we go back there and figure it out," Collins suggested. The nine others agreed and made their way to the family room. It looked exactly as it had when they'd left it about an hour before. The only source of light in the room came from the fireplace. Benny, Alison, Maureen, Joanne, Roger, and Mimi sat on the couch, Angel and Collins sat on the love seat, and Mark and Alfred remained standing. Roger looked at the clock that was on the wall above the fireplace.

"It's ten o' clock," he said. "We've got two hours to get the hell out of here."

"Something tells me that won't be easy," Joanne commented.

"Well, we have to try _something_," Benny said. "We can't just stay here and wait for the ghost to come back."

"Benny, I think we should tell them," Alison told her husband.

"Tell us what?" Roger asked.

"No!" Benny exclaimed. "We swore we'd take that to our graves!"

"Tell us what?" Angel asked.

"I know, but maybe they can help if they know," Alison said.

"What the fuck are you two talking about?" Maureen shouted. Benny looked to Alison. She returned his gaze and took his hand in hers.

"This isn't the first time we've been threatened by that ghost," Benny told the bohemians and his butler.

"It's not?" Joanne asked in shock.

"No, it's not," Alison replied. "Granted, we've never actually _seen _the ghost until tonight, but we've known for a while that it's been here."

"Wait a second," Collins said. "You bought the house, figured out it was haunted, and you _still _stayed in it?"

"We thought it might go away after a while."

"Anything _else _you realized and ignored?"

"Well, the urn and there's a painting that looks exactly like the ghost upstairs in the gallery."

"And there was whole bunch of other weird things in the basement, but we threw all that out and turned it into a wine cellar," Benny added. Collins stood up and walked over to the fireplace. He stared at the urn on the mantel.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Angel asked him.

"Lookin' for some sort of clue or somethin' that can help us figure out who the ghost is," the anarchist answered.

"Why on earth would we waste our time trying to figure that out?" Alfred asked.

"If we figure out who he is, maybe we can reason with him. I mean, if wants us to leave, he's gonna have to let us out." Collins carefully used his good hand to take the urn off of the mantel so he could study it closely.

"This is _completely _idiotic. What do you expect to find on that urn?"

"Well, I was hopin' for a name or somethin', but I don't see one."

"Of course you don't. It's just an urn. An _empty _urn at that. Leave it alone."

"Wait a minute. There are initials on it." Collins squinted at the urn. "I . . . K."

"'I. K.?'" Mimi repeated. "Well, what does that stand for?"

"THE BOOK!" both Benny and Alison exclaimed. The bohemians and Alfred all looked at them.

"What book?" Roger asked. The married couple said nothing and stood up. Everyone watched as they walked over to a picture of them on their wedding day that was hanging on a wall. Alison removed the picture, revealing a small door. Benny opened the door, stuck his hands inside the opening, and pulled out a rather large book with a lock attached to it. He blew a layer of dust off of it before he and Alison went back to their spots on the couch.

"Okay, what is that?" Maureen asked.

"That door was the first thing we noticed in this room when we were taking a tour of it," Benny explained. Collins placed the urn back on the mantel and made his way back to his place next to Angel. "When we opened it, we found this book."

"Well, what's in it?" Mark asked.

"We don't know," Alison answered. "We've never opened it. But the initials engraved on the spine are I.K. just like the ones on the urn. That has to mean something, right?"

"It could," Joanne agreed. "So, where's the key?"

"No idea," Benny replied.

"Are you sure it wasn't with the book?" Collins asked.

"I don't think it was." Angel stood up and walked over to the now opened small door. He stuck his hand inside, felt around for a bit, and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He then walked back to the love seat as Benny placed the book on the coffee table.

"This was all that was in there," he said. He passed the paper to Collins, who passed it to Mimi, who passed it to Roger, who passed it to Joanne, who passed it to Maureen, who passed it to Alison, who unfolded it.

"It's just a blank piece of paper," she told everyone. Angel, Collins, Mark, and Alfred all moved behind the couch to get a better view of the paper.

"Maybe there are instructions on how to open it written on the paper that are like some kind of watermark and you can only see them if the light hits it just right," Collins suggested.

"I'm sure there has been a power surge in the house," Alfred replied.

"The fire still creates light." Alison held the paper a little above her head and everyone moved closer to see if Collins' suggestion was right. Nothing happened. "Damn."

"So much for _that _theory," Alfred commented. Collins glared at the butler.

"Alison, can I see the paper?" Mark asked before an argument could break out. "I think Collins might be on to something with the whole watermark thing." Alison allowed Mark to take the paper out of her hand and he stared at it for a long moment as if he could make something appear.

"Hey, can't we just get out of here through a window?" Roger asked.

"Do _you _wanna test that out?" Mimi asked. "I mean, you saw what happened to Benny when he tried opening the door."

"Oh yeah." Roger looked to Mark, who was still studying the blank paper. "Nothing's gonna happen, Mark. Give it up." The filmmaker ignored his roommate and walked around the couch and toward the fireplace. He sat down in front of it and continued to stare at the paper. Slowly, words began to appear on it one by one.

"Words!" Mark exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Words! There are words on the paper!" The nine others rushed to him. The looked at the paper over his shoulder and saw nothing.

"Mark, sweetie, there's still nothing on the paper," Angel told him.

"Yes there are! There's a whole sentence here! It looks like calligraphy or something!"

"I have a question for you, Mark," Collins said. "What are you smokin' and can I have some?" Mark stood up and faced his friends, Benny, Alison, and Alfred. He held the paper out to them.

"You . . . you guys _really _don't see the words?" He sounded a bit hurt and he frowned when everyone shook their heads. "Oh . . . they're really here though! I'm not making it up!"

"Well . . . read them to us," Joanne said. Mark turned the paper back around and squinted at the words.

"'By the blood of the good and the wings of the gull, I now wish to open the book of Ichabod Kull,'" the filmmaker read. He looked up from the paper and saw the book floating in midair behind everyone else. His eyes widened. "Holy . . . shit."

"What's wrong, Mark?" Roger asked. Mark was at a loss for words. Suddenly, the lock fell off the book and onto the coffee table with a loud _clink _ caused the nine others to turn around. Everyone gasped as the book began to give off a bright, white light.

**Sorry about any typos and such you may find. This was started at an ungodly hour of the morning and finished today.**

**Review please**


End file.
